The Quebec cannabis society (SQDC) posted net earnings of $19 million for its second quarter on Friday, up 25.4 per cent from the same period last year, which it attributed in part to the expansion of its branch network. The Crown corporation's network consisted of 77 outlets at the end of the most recent quarter, 32 more than at the same time last year.

As a result, SQDC's sales totalled $142.0 million in the second quarter, up 18 per cent from $120.2 million a year earlier.

In addition to the growth in the number of branches, the SQDC attributed the increase in revenue to the migration of consumers from the illicit market.

The average selling price per gram of cannabis for all cannabis products, including taxes, was $6.32 in the most recent quarter, down from $6.63 in the second quarter of last year.

A total of $7.6 million of sales in the most recent quarter were generated through online commerce, representing 5.3 per cent of sales.

The entire surplus is remitted to the Quebec's finance ministry. Taking into account provincial and federal consumption taxes and excise taxes, which together account for $48.4 million, the SQDC paid a total of $53.3 million to the Quebec government for the second quarter.

Net expenses from SQDC's operations in the quarter ended Sept. 11 and totalled $19 million. As a proportion of revenues, they were 13.3 per cent of sales, compared with 12.2 per cent in the same period last year.